Photo: Jan Dolar
Tonja Jelen (born 1988) is a poet, literary critic, PR and moderator. She graduated in Slovene language and literature at the Faculty of Arts of the University of Maribor (2012). She moderated the literary show Anima-lit on radio MARŠ and was the cofounder and editor of the Liter Jezika magazine. She is the cofounder of Slam zverin.
She publishes poetry in central Slovenian magazines, her poems are included in various anthologies and are also set to music. She reached the finals of the Pesniški turnir three times. Until now, the poetry collections Pobalinka (Litera, 2016), Greva, zažba, saj sva (Kulturni center Maribor, 2020), Od točka nič (Litera, 2023) have been published.
The collection Rokerji pojejo pesnike (2018) was published by the publishing house Kulturni center Maribor, for which she was the editor for the literary section, and at the same publishing house she conceived the fanzine Literarna krpanka, which she also edited as an collection. She produces literary maps, based on Slovenian novels in coauthorship with Dijana Božić at the X-OP Society and the KODA MODRO Association. She participates in Obdobje and other conferences and is a cocurator at the Lirikonfest in Velenje.
